Both the Crosby and Kennedy High boys basketball teams delivered a wallop that would have knocked other teams to the mat. Each held its ground, but when the final bell sounded, Crosby took the decision.

The Bulldogs built a third-quarter lead of 20 points, then sweated out a sensational Kennedy rally to claim a frantic 78-75 victory over the Eagles on Friday at the Palace.

With the win, Crosby (5-0) remained one of the Naugatuck Valley League's two unbeaten teams, along with Wilby. With the defeat, Kennedy (4-2) has now lost to only the Bulldogs and Wildcats, by three points in each game, and in each had the ball and a shot at the buzzer to tie.

Crosby looked superb in dashing away from Kennedy. Just one night after a win over Harding, also at home, the Bulldogs showed no ill effects from the back-to-back games.

Tyshon Rogers led the way again with 26 points, six rebounds and six steals. This time, however, there was a lot of help — from Devin Stallings (17 points, 13 rebounds), Aseim King (14 points, seven rebounds, six steals) and Lex Perez (13 points, six rebounds, four assists).

"It all starts with defense," King said. "We trap, and we trap hard. We hustle, hustle, hustle, and we beat them to all those balls. That's how we got the lead so high."

Crosby put the Eagles away, or so we thought, over an eight-minute stretch to end the first half and start the third quarter. It was Rogers converting three steals into two hoops and an assist. And when Stallings scored on a put-back with 3:15 left in the third, Crosby led 59-39.

That's when Kennedy went off, way off.

Don Jarrett (26 points, seven rebounds) hit two 3-pointers, and Isaiah Wright (22 points) added two 3-pointers, a jam and an offensive rebound to end the third. Suddenly, Kennedy was within seven points.

"They caught fire," Stallings said. "When it was time for them to make their shots, they were making them."

In the fourth quarter, Jarrett hit two more 3-pointers 35 seconds apart, and in a heartbeat Crosby's lead was just 67-64.

Wallace Wiggins had seven assists for Kennedy. He was the man handing the ball off to Wright (four 3-pointers) and Jarrett (six 3-pointers). When Wiggins sees either man open behind the arc, "I just give it right to them. When they are wide open, they will knock down those shots every time."

Crosby answered late, though.

"We had to get back down court and score," Stallings said, "and go to the foul line."

Oh, yes, let's talk about the foul line. The Bulldogs got to it — 25 times, in fact — but they made only 13. Talk about opening the door. "We've got to make those free throws," King said.

But Crosby did make the clutch plays when the clock was moving.

Perez slowed the Eagles when he hit a 3-pointer, then slipped a pass inside for a Rogers hoop. It was 74-66 with 2:40 to play.

Wright hit a 3-pointer for Kennedy with 32 seconds left, and then Jarrett hit another at the 7.8-second mark. A Rogers free throw gave Crosby a 78-75 lead, and a Wright 3-pointer at the buzzer missed.

"We put them to a challenge at halftime," said Kennedy coach Armand LeVasseur. "We have to get them to understand what it takes to play hard all the time. We took too long to turn it on."

Crosby coach Nick Augelli said he wanted his team, which starts four juniors, to be undefeated heading into the 2013 portion of the schedule. He got his wish. It is a team that is still learning how to win.

LeVasseur wants his vastly inexperienced team — remember Wright and Jarrett are sophomores — to grow up fast in the season's first half.

"We are so inexperienced. With the city games coming so early, we knew it was going to be tough," LeVasseur said. "Our inexperience may be a problem now, but we will learn how to get over those hurdles and we'll be a lot better in the second half of the season."

Reader Comments

The following are comments from online readers like you. In no way do they represent the view of The Republican-American.

Submit a Comment

We encourage your feedback and dialog. Please be civil and respectful. Registered users comments will be posted automatically. All other comments will be reviewed by our staff before appearing on the Web site. If you're witty, to the point and quotable, your reader comments may also be included on the Around the Towns page of The Sunday Republican.